, 1887-02-16
PANIC AT 4 FIRE.

"
There was a decidedly exciting time yes,
terday morning at - fire in the five story,
marble front building, No. 81 Murray street.
There were a number of boys and girls in
the place at the time and when the alarm
of fire rang through the building they made
a wild rush to get out, more or less panic
stricken-cOnsiderably mOre-and luckily
did so without any mishap.
The first floor was occupied by the
Adams & Bishop Company, dealers in
paper stock; the second floor by T. G.,
Edge, dealer in cr0ckery, and John B.
ShOtwell, dealer in builders hardware.
and the three upper floors by Brent, Good
SEQ, the distributing agents of the Carter
Medicine Company.
All was hustle and business in the big
building when, at halfpaSt eleven o'clock.
a man thrust his head out of the third
story window and yelled "Firp! Fire T.
Then y ! policeman sent out an alarm, and
III a few minutes the street was filled with
excited fremen, putting engines and a great
throng of people. A third alarm was next
sent out, as the fire promised to be n big
one, and brought an extra supply Of engines
to the spot.
The fire started Oh the second floor. inst
when and how nobody seems to know. and
spread with great rapidity through the
building, owing to the infammable nature
nf the goods in it. 1t completely Quilted
the second floor, and, despite the numerous
streams of water poured upon it, made its
way through the third, fourth and fifth
floors to the roof. The fremen attacked
the flames from the surrounding points.
going on the 81" track with their hose and
for q time SuSpending travel on. the line.
1t took the iremen over forty minutes to
0at thu fra u0.lAp OnntpoI ,mJ 80. "
TO wholly extinguisll it. They were very
much impeded in their work by the cram.
ped street and the presence of the "Lu
tracks, and could get little good on. of
the water tower.
When the man yelled "Firp! Fire!D from
the third story window the twenty eight
girls and twelve boys employed by the
Garter Medicine Company started uD i'm fer.
rOr and made a rush for the stairway to ret
into the street. There they we're driven
back by an OverpOwering volume of flame
and smoke and rushed back into the room
III the widest excitement. They ran hither
and thilher not knowing which way to
turn, and, III their excitement, some even
esSayed to get out of the windows. But
tor the GOODNESS and prOmptitude Of Mr..
5000 II Is more than likely some of them
would have been killed. In a commanding
IN guns " STOP UuoIc
screaming and the boys to be calm. and
when he had succeeded in restoring them
to something like his own calmness he led
them up the stairway, followed by the
smoke in binding, Sutfocating volumes to
the roof, whence they descended through
the scuttles of neighborine buildings to the
street, terribly frightened, not hurt in the
least and very thankful for their escape.
The people employed on the second floor
had no difficulty in getting out, and the
few on The fourth and fifth floors also got
out easily by way of the roof. The ONLY
trouble was with those Oh the third floor.
The fire at one time, Immediately after
the engines called by the third alarm
reached the spot, presented a terrific as.
pect. The flames, fed by the infammable
materials, principally paper and chemicals,
IN the building, roared like the blast of a
furnace and poured out of every window.
The heat Was so intense as to ompel even
the iremen to keep at a respectable dis.
lance from the fire.
al the losses, so far as known. are
covered by insurance. The loss OF. the
Garter Medicine Company is put at over